Lord that I May See! Jesus Still Heals the Blind

As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened.

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CHESAPEAKE, VA (Catholic Online) - This morning at the Liturgy I proclaimed the Gospel of the day. It was an excerpt from the ninth chapter of the evangelist Matthew.

In that chapter, Jesus heals a paralyzed man, raises a dead girl to life, restores hearing to a deaf man, heals a mute, and opens the eyes of two blind men. It is this last healing which I proclaimed in the Liturgy: 

"As Jesus passed by, two blind men followed him, crying out, "Son of David, have pity on us!" When he entered the house, the blind men approached him and Jesus said to them, "Do you believe that I can do this?" "Yes, Lord," they said to him. Then he touched their eyes and said, "Let it be done for you according to your faith." And their eyes were opened. (Matt. 9:27-30)

Over years of ministry I have had the privilege of praying with people who were struggling on many different fronts. I often find myself beginning the prayer by thanking the Lord 'for the gift of living faith which opens our eyes to see all of life differently now because of who Jesus is - and who we can become in Him.'

We are all blinded by sin. The Sacrament of Baptism was called the Sacrament of the Enlightenment in the early Church for good reason. It delivers us from the domain of darkness. The Apostle Paul wrote to the early Christians:

"He has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,  in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Col. 1:13)

However, some of that darkness can return, for many different reasons. We can wander from the Way. We need to keep the light of living faith alive in our lives at all times - so that we do not fall back into darkness and end up living in the twilight. We do that by staying close to the Lord, who is the Light of the world.

The beloved disciple John wrote in his first letter: "This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not live according to the truth;  but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin." (1 John 1: 5-7)

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No matter what has happened in our past, Jesus walks with us today! He has been raised from the dead. He enters the dusty streets of our daily lives. We need the eyes of living faith to see Him there.

In the Christian tradition we read of the concept of spiritual senses which, in an analogous way, respond to our spiritual progress like the physical senses help us in the material world. One of those is our spiritual vision. We are all blind, in need of the touch of the Lord to open our eyes.

St Jose Maria Escriva once wrote: "When darkness surrounds us and our soul is blind and restless, we have to go to the Light, like Bartimaeus. Repeat, shout, cry out ever more strongly, Domine, ut videam! - Lord, that I may see... And daylight will dawn upon you, and you will be able to enjoy the brightness He grants you." (Furrow #862)

Where is Jesus passing by in our own lives? Do we see Him? He reveals Himself to those who have their spiritual eyes opened. He will open our eyes if we ask Him to do so. How about in our workplace? How about in our relationships? How about in our families?

How about in the midst of that struggle we thought we could never endure? Isn't it amazing that crisis can become not only an invitation to exercise faith - but sometimes, after the fact, we  realize that even the crisis was turned to good. It was a part of a loving plan which we did not see at the time? (See, Romans 8:28)

In the last chapter of the Gospel of St John we read: 'There are also many other things that Jesus did, but if these were to be described individually, I do not think the whole world would contain the books that would be written.' (John 21:25)

This underscores the importance of the specific stories recorded in the four Gospels.

The people to whom we are introduced in these Gospel accounts have been selected from among many others who encountered Jesus - for a purpose. They can put us in touch with the same Lord who is alive in our midst today! They can also put us in touch with ourselves, and our need for Him.

Through prayerful reflection, these stories - and these people, like the two blind men we met today - are an invitation to conversion and a portal into a deeper encounter with the Risen Jesus Christ in our daily lives.

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As we enter into the stories found on the pages of the sacred text, the meaning enters into us and enlightens us. Our eyes can be opened - and we can begin to see life differently.

St. Jose Maria Escriva also wrote - "I advised you to read the New Testament for some minutes every day, and to enter into each scene and take part in it, as one more of the characters. This is so that you incarnate the Gospel, so that it is fulfilled in your life and make others fulfill it." (Furrow #672).

This way of encountering the Lord in His Word grows through prayer. Just this past week in a morning homily at the Church of St Martha, Pope Francis returned to one of his favorite themes. He reminded the faithful that theology must be done on ones knees. The image speaks to the need for an ongoing encounter with the Risen Lord in prayer.

The Living Word, Jesus Christ, speaks to us through the written word. The written word points us to the Living Word. Understanding the Bible depends upon having a living relationship with the Risen Lord, the Living Word. Everyone one of us can have such a relationship by developing a lifestyle of prayer. Prayer is a way of living in the Lord and allowing Him to live His life in and through us. 

One of my favorite definitions of a theologian is from an  early Christian Monk, Evagrius of Pontus. He wrote that a theologian is one who "rests his head on the chest of Christ." The image calls to mind the beloved disciple, John, depicted as doing just that in early Christian art. It also speaks of the indispensable prerequisite for any fruitful reading and study of the Bible, a relationship with the Lord, which grows through prayer.

Theologians use a term, hermeneutic.  A hermeneutic is a lens through which we view or interpret something of importance. 

Living faith is a hermeneutic. It opens our spiritual eyes to see life differently. It enables us to see the hand of the Lord in every circumstance. It lights our path enabling us to walk behind the Lord on the path in our daily lives, because we are guided by the Light of the World. 

Jesus promised, "I am the Light of the world. He that follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12) Let us cry out with the two blind men today, Lord That I May See! Jesus still heals the blind, if we believe He can and ask. 

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Deacon Keith A. Fournier is Founder and Chairman of Common Good Foundation and Common Good Alliance. A married Roman Catholic Deacon of the Diocese of Richmond, Virginia, he and his wife Laurine have five grown children and six grandchildren, He serves as the Director of Adult Faith Formation at St. Stephen, Martyr Parish in Chesapeake, VA. He is also a human rights lawyer and public policy advocate who served as the first and founding Executive Director of the American Center for Law and Justice in the nineteen nineties. He has long been active at the intersection of faith, values and culture and was recently appointed Special Counsel to Liberty Counsel. He is also the Editor in Chief of Catholic Online.

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